Why Are Nicki Minaj and Cardi B Fighting Now?

 

Photo-Illustration: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen

The beef between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj — which has been a long-simmering perpetual stew since at least 2018 — heated up on X this week. The two rappers traded low blows online over each other’s appearance, fertility, children, and more.

The ill will between Minaj and Cardi has been present for seven-plus years at this point. It has almost become one of those fights where you can’t even remember how it started, you know? But Vulture remembers. So here’s the TL;DR about the latest spat between Barbie and Bardi and the lore behind it.

Why did hostility flare up?

Minaj appeared to be upset that Cardi B has a new album out. That’s really where this one starts, according to TMZ. First, she tweeted “$4.99,” the sale price for Am I the Drama? She then began reworking the lyrics of Cardi’s diss track “Magnet” to be Cardi shade. “Abcdefgeeeeeeee,” Minaj wrote in now-deleted tweets, “SUR GER REE TO LOOK LIKE MEEEEEE / tell the rat & tell J ZEEEEEE / Rico Fraud & PERJURY.” In the same run of tweets, Minaj took aim at Jay-Z and Roc Nation president Desiree Perez.

Cardi B fired back, tweeting her suspicions that Minaj’s frenzied posting is a by-product of cocaine use. “The power I have.. make these btches come out of rehab everytime,” she wrote. “Go to your fcking room.” Cardi also interpolated her “Magnet” verse to allude to the sexual-violence convictions in Minaj’s family. “A B C D E F G / Your man have to snatch PUSSY,” she wrote about Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, a convicted sex offender. “Your bro be touching 12 year olds,” she added, referring to Minaj’s brother’s 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting a child.

From there, attacks kept firing both ways at lower and lower targets. Minaj said Cardi had HPV, which prompted Cardi to claim Minaj needed to go to fertility doctors because she “couldn’t reproduce from all them percs scrambling your eggs.” Then Minaj called Cardi’s daughter ugly, and Cardi called Minaj’s son slow. Cardi then pointed out that they were feuding on Minaj’s son’s birthday.

Cardi eventually said she was going to fight Minaj for real, while Minaj called on the Barbz to boycott every brand associated with Cardi.

Who else caught strays?

Besides the aforementioned alleged wig-wearing Jay-Z and Cardi brand partner DoorDash, Minaj came for TMZ, Quavo, Charlamagne tha God, and more. Meanwhile, Cardi was having beef side quests with Ice Spice’s manager, James Rosemond Jr.; Latto; and JT of City Girls.

How did this all start?

We harken back now to the halcyon days of 2018. People wanted Oprah Winfrey to run for president. Drake was topping the charts with “God’s Plan.” And Cardi B was allegedly throwing shoes at the Harper’s Bazaar “Icons” party. The two rappers started feuding over Minaj’s guest verse on a Migos track, and it reportedly got physical at this NYFW after-party. TMZ got some footage of the fracas, perhaps exacerbating Minaj’s ire toward the tabloid.

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 And how is Jay-Z involved? 

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